Left for Dead
by Oliviam Langdon
Summary: It wasn't just Tate who lived and died in the Murder House during the 90's. Experience the mind of Veronica Corso, girlfriend of the Murder House owner's son in 1997. With her boyfriend driven insane to the point of murder-suicide, she was left alone to her descent into the same darkness that also consumed everyone else in the house, while he hid to be tortured by guilt and fear.


Hi everyone! This is my first Fanfic, please let me know what you think in reviews and I'll try and improve as I continue. This is pretty much an introduction type chapter, I haven't decided whether I'm going to keep the timeline here, or go through Veronica's point of view during the Harmon family's stay in the murder house. Or maybe after those events. Let me know what you'd prefer, or if not I can only hope the answers will come to me in my dreams. I hope you enjoy, thanks!

* * *

**December 7th, 1997**

"My parents are away for a few weeks so we have the entire place to ourselves."

"Sweet, we can do whatever we want. Hell yeah"

Danny slid the key into the door and turned it, unlocking the entrance to the humble abode. Finally we reached warmth, so that was definitely nice. Finally out of the cold and into the warmth of the living room where he started a fire in that elegant fireplace. I've actually always admired this house, it was so beautiful and nice. Everything about was so interesting, I was so drawn to it. And it wasn't just the house, it was that feeling of comfort I felt. Totally different from what I was normally use to back at my own house, that place was a nightmare so I'd been spending a lot of time at Daniel's house to get away from all the shit I had to deal with back home.

Anyways, after the fire was set up and all that, we settled down in front of it to embrace the warmth and watch the flames flicker and the wood crackle. To be honest, I always thought Daniel was a pyromaniac or some shit. Always liked fire, always liked watching it. But my thoughts were interrupted when he'd spoken.

"Hey Veronica" He said my name softly, turning his head to me.

"Mhm?" I turned my eyes to his, he had that intense thoughtful expression. I could see the reflection of the flames in his eyes.

"I love you"

The words seared into my brain, I just looked at him.

"Danny" His name rolled off my tongue.

"Yeah?"

"I love you too" I said. It felt like several minutes we were just sitting there staring into each others eyes, watching the fire in them, or maybe that was just the hopeless romantic side of me trying to make my relationship feel like a movie. He wrapped his arms around me, and I think that was the most intimate feeling I'd ever experienced. He'd held me before, but this time just felt different.

* * *

I woke up on the floor all alone gasping for air. My throat, it hurt so bad. It stung as the air was consumed by my airways. My head was throbbing, my eyesight was fuzzy. I rolled my head to the side, looking at the fireplace. Fire was out. I slowly gathered myself, getting up. I observed my surroundings hoping for a sign of Danny.

"Danny?" I called out, "Danny, where are you? What happened?"

I heard a muffled noise coming from down the hall, so I followed trying to figure out where it was coming from. I heard something break, and that was when I realized the noise was coming from the basement. I stumbled towards the door, opening it to reveal the stairway.

"Danny? What are you doing?" I said loudly enough for my voice to echo throughout the basement. I walked down cautiously, entering the dark, dank place.

"I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry.." I heard him sobbing.

I pressed onward into the basement before finally finding the room he was in, he was sitting on the ground with his back to me, but somebody was in his arms.

"Daniel what the hell are you doing, what is that?"

No answer, just the sad cries. I walked around him so that I was facing him and that's when it donned on me.

He was holding me.. my body.

I shook my head, no.. Was this some kind of prank? I kept saying his name, expecting him to answer me. I began yelling, screaming, but it was like I didn't even exist. He didn't see me, he didn't hear me.

"What the hell is this!? What are you doing, stop it! This isn't funny!" I cried, but no answers.

"Veronica, I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean for this to happen but I couldn't control myself... they told me if I didn't do it, they'd torture you" He mumbled between his irregular heavy breathing and sobbing.

I fell to my knees, starting to sob uncontrollably. I wasn't sure if any of this was even real. It all felt like some sick, twisted nightmare. I felt like I was in some kind of daze.

I saw him pulling out his knife and hold it up to his own throat.. and all I could do was watch.

"I wont be able to live with myself.." He cried, "I love you too much"

"Daniel, NO!"

Blood. Pouring out of the slice in his neck. Spraying onto my dead body. Blood. I watched him die, that look on his face.. the look on his face that showed how much pain he was in, how much.. agony. He held onto my body, pulling it close like a teddy bear or something. All I could do was watch. I didn't understand any of this, and I certainly didn't ask for it.

"What did I do?" I kept crying, "What did I do!?" I started yelling at his blooded, dying self. His eyes closed.

I started banging my fists against my own head, started pulling my own hair. I was having a complete breakdown. This couldn't be real, this couldn't be happening. It's all just a dream. It's all just a dream. This isn't right.

After a couple minutes of screaming and bawling I finally stood up, still weeping like a child, but more quietly now. I shut my eyes, trying to pretend it wasn't happening. But I heard his voice.

"I'm so sorry, Veronica.. I love you.."

I turned around, only to see nobody was there. I must of been going insane, I still couldn't believe what I was seeing was even real. I tried convincing myself he was playing a trick on me, but I was so shaken up I couldn't even think straight. What kind of sick, twisted nightmare was this? Who dreams about these kinds of things?

I had to take control of myself, I had to be calm and collected. If this was some kind of prank or nightmare, it'd be over if I just went to sleep. I would wake up, and everything would be fine. So I made my way up the basement steps, upstairs into Danny's room to lay on his bed and try to sleep. I'd wake up next to him, both of us very alive. Maybe we had taken hallucinogenic drugs, or I simply just had some type of freaky nightmare. I couldn't accept what I saw, not yet.

* * *

I woke up alone in the morning. Throat still hurt. Something in me felt dreadful, felt dead inside. I pulled myself up from the bed, walking into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, and what I saw in the mirror disturbed my mind. It still wasn't over. Tears flowed like a waterfall, I saw all the marks on my neck. What the hell was going on? I banged my fists against the mirror, the reflective glass broke and shattered after several strikes. I looked at the blood on my hands, the cuts stung wildly. I turned the sink knob to wash the blood, only to find the pain alleviated and my cuts healed.

The mixed emotions flooded my mind and heart, maybe this really wasn't a dream. Maybe I really wasn't on some kind of sick drug, maybe it wasn't a prank after all. My hands wandered to my neck, gently touching the dark marks. Dead.. I was dead.

Daniel did this to me.

I felt like I hated him, but I also loved him so much. I didn't know how to feel, how to react.. What was I suppose to do now? I moped out of the bathroom, collapsing to my knees in the hallway. Why, why ,why? Why did he do this? What did I do? Why would he do this to me, and to himself?

I had to find him, I didn't care what it would take. I began my frantic search all over the house. I wasn't going to let myself go crazy without him, no!

It felt it were years, but only hours passed. I still couldn't find him. I searched the house several times calling out his name only to run into morbidly twisted looking nurses, a wandering dazed doctor, an old maid... All I could do was run from them, and keep looking for Daniel. Meanwhile in my head, the realizations kept coming, I gained the knowledge. I found out the secret. My mind was swimming.

Whoever died here was stuck here forever, and from what it seemed, people had been dying here for a long while. But what I wanted to know was why I couldn't find Danny, why was he hiding from me? All I wanted to do was see him.. Was he afraid? I didn't understand. He left me here, confused.. dead. Why isn't he here? Did he go somewhere else, instead of being stuck here like the rest of us?

It wasn't long before our bodies were found. No one had seen us for days, and authorities came to the house to find some answers, which they did find. Danny's parents had already been on their way home hearing about the disappearances, and moved out the minute they found out their son commit a murder-suicide. As I watched his parents packing away, I couldn't help but wonder about my own parents. What were they doing, thinking? I wondered what my funeral was like, while I also wondered what Daniel's was like too. Wish I coulda been there.

* * *

Weeks later I found a physically defected boy up in the attic, always wanting to play with that red ball. So I spent a lot of my time sitting up there, the ball rolled back and forth.. back and forth.. The steady pace was soothing, calming. I could see why a poor soul like him would need something like this to help cope with eternity in this dark place. Made a lot of sense, actually.

One of the days I walked up the stairs to the attic, I found that someone else already there. Blond hair, flannel, ripped jeans. Didn't seem like he died too long ago, really. I was just glad it was about time I met someone around my age.

He turned around, looking at me with an unreadable expression. He rolled the ball back shortly and got up.

"Playtime's over, Beau" He spoke softly before Beau clung back to the shadows with his red ball.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Who are you?" The guy challenged.

There was a long pause.

"I'm Veronica.. Veronica Corso. Are you.. are you dead? Stuck here like me?" I questioned, desperate for answers.

"Cool name" He commented, then making his way down the steps.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question!" I called out from above.

"You asked so many, I think I got kinda overwhelmed" He smirked as he looked up at me from below. I watched him walk down the corridor and disappear. With a small sigh of defeat, I turned to the shadows Beau was residing in.

"Hey, wanna play?"

"Yes" He stuttered, crawling from the shadows. He rolled the ball over to me, and I rolled it back.

* * *

Tate and I had talked often over my first few weeks, which was pretty nice. It was difficult for me to cope, and I was more lonely than ever. Stuck in my boyfriends house who wouldn't dare show his face around me, I could only guess what he was doing.

The first time I heard about him was through Adelaide, Tate's still alive sister who'd often come in the house and see him or the twins, or whoever else.

"There was a boy crying about you today" She said as she emerged into the kitchen. I was sitting criss-cross on the counter-top fidgeting with my thumbs, but her comment sparked a wave of shock and my eyes shot up to look at her.

"There was?" I inquired, my interest peaked.

"Yes. I remember he lived here. He was in the basement saying, 'I'm so sorry Veronica'. Isn't that so sad?"

"Addy, is he down there right now?"

"Yes, but he wont show himself to you. He's afraid"

My eyes lowered to the ground. At least I found out he was here, and not in some different form of afterlife.

"I know" I replied to Addy.

"Hey Veronica, why is he sorry?"

"It doesn't matter, Addy. It's fine"

She gave me that thoughtful look, and soon I heard the sounds of an aged woman's calls outside. The kitchen door soon swung open.

"Adelaide, come on home now! It's getting late" She said with a clear tone of annoyance as she strutted into the room. The spirited woman intentions were distracted as she saw me, and a small smile crept upon her face.

"Well, hello there. You must be-"

"Veronica" I finished for her as my eyes shifted to the ceiling.

"Yes, of course.." She turned to Addy, "Now you go on home, Adelaide. I'll be there in a few minutes"

"But mom, I want to stay!"

"No, Addy, you can come back tomorrow!"

The girl sighed in defeat and walked out of the kitchen and off to her home. The woman took a deep breath before turning her gaze to me.

"So, Veronica, wow.. such a lovely name. I'm Constance, I live next door with my daughter Adelaide"

"Thanks, nice to meet you, Constance" I said softly, she looked at me with an expression of sympathy.

"You know, I heard about what happened, just about everyone on this side of town knows about it. Terrible tragedy, I remember watching them bring out the bodies from this place just a small while ago" She said, sitting on a stool and lighting a cigarette.

"You're Addy's mother, so you must be Tate's" I changed the subject, not wanting to be reminded of my misfortune.

"You've met my boy?" Her eyes flickered up to mine, "I suppose it's good he's met someone around his age to talk with."

"Yeah, I've been pretty lonely so I guess it's nice that I have someone to talk with too" I admitted to the woman, an elongated sigh escaping my lips.

"Well what about your boyfriend, that Daniel boy? Aren't you two spending your.. eternal afterlives together?"

"He won't show himself to me. I'm not sure why, maybe it's the guilt.."

"Possibly" She took another long drag of her cigarette, the fumes ushering out of her breath.

"I guess I don't need to ask why you or Addy are shocked to see me.. You guys lived here, before Danny and his parents. You know a lot about the house"

"Yes, that's right. Definitely wasn't a part of my life plan. You know, I originally came out here to Los Angeles for my acting career"

"What happened?"

"Back then the industries were just beginning to throw out the morals, nudity was a big deal. So I thought I'd wait it out, thinking the morals and the goodness would all come back. Though, of course, the children came and that butterfly of a dream shriveled up and died after that"

"Harsh"

"Like my cigarettes.. Well, I suppose I should go now, then. Who knows what the hell that child can do in a matter of minutes. It was nice chatting with you" She ashed the cigarette in a tray and stood up, taking a few steps towards me, "Such a shame, what happened. Anyway, would you tell Tate I hope he's doing well?"

"Yeah, I'll tell him"

"Thank you. I'll see you around, then. Enjoy the house" She said smiling, walking out the back door with that air of confidence that seemed to radiate from her.

I hopped off the counter, making my way towards the basement. I knew he'd be down there, and although I couldnt see or hear him I know he could see or hear me.

Taking a deep breath before doing so, I opened the basement door and trudged down the steps into the room I found him in that one night.

"I know you're here, Daniel" I spoke, "I'm not mad, I just want to see you.. I don't want you hiding from me, okay? Please"

No answer, nothing. I felt empty inside, hurt.

"You can't do this to me.. I won't let you do this to me" I muttered hopelessly, storming out of the basement.

This was wrong, it was all wrong. And there was not a single thing I could do to make the situation any better, it seemed.


End file.
